Mixed reactions to Las Vegas showcase

Comdex special Big players favour backroom deals over trade stands.

For the largest vendors at Comdex, the show presents an opportunity for the world's heavy-hitting IT executives to meet behind closed doors and thrash out multimillion dollar deals. For them, the hustle and bustle of the showroom floor is a sideshow - a marketing exercise.

But America's largest IT event also presents a unique business opportunity for thousands of re-sellers, systems integrators and distributors to come together under one roof, meet with potential suppliers and sniff out next year's hottest products and emerging technologies.

This year's show has come under fire for being too low-end and consumer oriented, so PC Dealer hit the showroom floor to gauge the success of Comdex 98 from the channel's perspective.

For Steve Ivell, managing director of Colchester-based reseller S. Ivell Holdings, it was his first taste of Comdex. 'I came principally because I couldn't get a place at CeBit this year - and I'm definitely coming back,' he said.

'Comdex leaves CeBit standing. The range of products here amazes me.

We've recently moved into the backup software market and came here to look for partners. We've already found two US software products that we're going to introduce into the UK next year,' he said.

'The technology here won't be at CeBit for another six months, and by then it will be on the market, so this is the best place to get a sneak preview,' he said. 'We think we are at the cutting edge in the UK, but you see how far behind we really are when you come here.'

This year's show was notable for the absence on the floor of some of IT's biggest players, including IBM, Compaq and Intel. Ian Fell, marketing director of S. Ivell, said: 'The stands are essentially a corporate marketing exercise and I think the absence of some is a sign of the squeeze on the global market.'

Horst Pemp, general manager of Austrian distributor CD Quest and a seasoned Comdex veteran, was unimpressed by the showcase products. 'There is nothing much new here, but everything is smaller, faster and cheaper,' he said.

Pemp said he comes to the show to generate business, pick up information and make contacts. He dismissed claims that the growing user focus of the show reduced its appeal. 'We distribute to retailers as well as corporate dealers, so why complain about all these consumer products?' he said.

Keith Daly, sales manager at Las Vegas-based retailer Payless Cashways, shared Pemp's sentiment. 'It's my second time here and it's easily as good as last year,' he said. 'I come to check out the latest peripherals and I've seen some very interesting portable scanning devices.'

Comdex may have lost some of its focus as an enterprise-level event, its evolution reflects the broadening of the IT industry as a whole - which as ever is driven by the channel's entrepreneurs.